January 17, 2007

Vietnamese farmer plays classical music to pigs to boost productivity

A Vietnamese pig farmer is playing classical music from the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert to promote productivity while his pigs are feeding, indicating that perhaps animals have a better appreciation of music than most people. 

Nguyen Chi Cong, who rears 3,000 pigs at his farm, said the music was played for his workers at first, but soon found that the music also had a soothing effect on the pigs.

The pigs started eating more and were gaining weight faster than usual, said Cong, who adds that he plays the music six hours a day, 4 hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

Cong, who has run the farm in southern Dong Nai province near Ho Chi Minh City for the past 22 years, said that although the method has no scientific basis, he swears the pigs enjoy it.

Cong is also convinced he is the first farmer in Vietnam to apply this technique, adding that the practice has also piqued the interest of nearby farms.